Russia's agriculture minister said Moscow had started free grain deliveries of up to 200,000 tonnes to six African countries, as promised by President Vladimir Putin.
In a statement on Friday, Dmitry Patrushev said ships bound for Burkina Faso and Somalia had already left Russian ports and that additional shipments to Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Mali and the Central African Republic would soon follow.
Putin had promised to supply the six countries with free grain at a summit with African leaders in July, soon after Moscow pulled out of a deal that allowed Ukraine to transport grain from its Black Sea ports, despite the war with Russia.
The agreement, brokered by the United Nations and known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, was intended to help prevent famine by providing more wheat, sunflower oil, fertilizers and other products to world markets, including for humanitarian needs.
After Russia announced its plan to send free shipments, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that a "handful of donations" would not fix the "dramatic impact" caused by the end of the Black Sea deal.
Since leaving the accord, Russia has repeatedly bombed Ukrainian ports and grain warehouses, and Kiev claims hundreds of thousands of tons of grain have been destroyed.
In response to the collapse of the deal, Ukraine announced an "alternative humanitarian corridor" spanning the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria.
Again on Friday, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted a Ukrainian government service as saying that some 151 ships have used the new Black Sea shipping corridor since it was established in August.
A total of 4.4 million tons of cargo were transported along the corridor, including 3.2 million tons of grain, said Yury Vaskov, deputy. Minister of Renewal and Infrastructure, quoted by BTA.
Vaskov reported that 30 ships were being loaded at Ukrainian ports. These include 22 ships that will carry 700,000 tons of grain and eight ships preparing 500,000 tons of other cargo.
Ukraine was one of the leading producers and exporters of grain in the world. Maintaining grain exports is key to its economy, which shrank by about a third last year.
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